methodology
The methodological emphasis on the re-arrangement of elements in virtual and physical media spaces and the examination of a culture from its own voice actually gave the title for the overall project, Shuffle Space.
A Shuffle Space project serves two major functions for designers. One is as a designer’s research tool for gathering voices, feelings and thoughts in the community. The findings contain facts, narrative, and a reflection of cultural characteristics. The second function uses these observations to influence its contributors, leading to an innovative communication system between individuals and their community.
In the typical design process, research, brainstorming, creative leaps, art directing and production often guarantee the efficiency and quality of the final output. In Shuffle Space, these steps are mixed for the purpose of exploring other undeveloped prospects in interaction design.
In order to create discourse and gather voices, thoughts, or opinions from the selected community, ACCD, a series of cultural probes were launched in the form of location-based installations. Along with these probes, work as a teaching assistant for various classes, and experience as a design researcher for a Ford Foundation project focusing on online resources between teenagers and design education, became supporting resources.
In order to define topics for each installation-based probe, the explorations started by surveying and interviewing teachers and students who spent significant time on the ACCD campus. The survey aimed to discover how students use, and what they know about, campus spaces. The survey looked into the school’s use as a living space. Do teachers and students read, write, and think in the building? Where? What is the symbolic meaning to their majors in various spots? How do they describe a moment related to the space they have chosen?
Along with creating these exhibition-based probes, I worked as a teaching assistant for various classes that help design students explore animation and interactive design. I figured out that although new digital tools do in a way free designers’ limits on the media production, the development of such tools was also overwhelming: How do students budget their production time and cost, how soon they can master skill sets enough for their design ideas? The frustration of using these tools is not the only obstacle students face (Tselentis). The lack of motivation and time often deter designers trained in traditional media.
In one of my conversations with Jay Chapman, a creative coach for the student body who spends more hours with students across various majors than probably any other instructor, I learned the basic component of understanding what people want: to listen. Listening is an alternate word to sensing in terms of interaction design. It does not sense human inputs like clicking a mouse, touching an LED screen, or turning a knob. To listen, a probe should sense feelings, gather voices, and be able to broadcast them to others.